Just five years after the Yom Kippur War, U.S. president Jimmy Carter hosts Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat at Camp David. This historic meeting will result in the first peace accord to be signed by Israel and one of its Arab neighbors.
Several months of more detailed negotiations lead to the signing of a peace treaty on March 26, 1979, in Washington, D.C. Under the treaty's terms, control of the Sinai returns to Egypt, while Israel retains the Gaza Strip. In exchange for the Sinai's return, Egypt recognizes Israel and establishes full diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. Furthermore, Egypt guarantees that most of its forces will stay more than 50 kilometers from the Israeli border. The treaty also allows Egyptian and Israeli citizens to travel between the two countries.
Most Arab nations boycott Egypt as a result of the treaty; Oman is the one exception. Less than three years after the treaty is signed, Islamic extremists assassinate Sadat.